Coke
Studio releases its Fifth and final episode of Season 6 featuring “Miyan Ki
Malhaar” by Ayesha Omar, Fariha Pervez, Zara Madani and Rustam Fateh Ali Khan,
“Allah Hu” by Saieen Zahoor featuring Abrar-ul-Haq, “Moray Naina” by Zara
Madani and “Sawaal – Kande Utte” by Ali Azmat and Muazzam Ali Khan. Bringing
nature’s intricacies to the mix this season is the story of ‘Miyan Ki Malhaar’.
A raag that is based on the rainy
season, in this presentation of the raag, the song sees the flow of the
oncoming rain first heard from afar, flowing into the drizzle and finally into
the crash of lightning and thunder in its full downpour. Ayesha Omar opens the
song reminiscing about the beauty of the raag that is known to actually cause
rain in classical tradition. The underlying tone of the verses’ cyclic chants
is one of imminent release – an almost looming feel that is felt in the
instrumentation by the band in Serbia and distinctly felt in the groove of the
bass line.
The song’s flow further transitions into the calm before the storm –
vocally portrayed by Fariha Pervez’s rendition of the raag and musically
flowing into an ambient space of lingering frequencies accentuated by
percussive elements by Turkey’s Burhan Hasdemir and Nepal’s Siddharta Maharjan.
As the song reaches its brim, the downpour follows in all its glory as the
vocals fall to Zara Madani bringing the clap and thunder of the storm in the
song’s free fall into rock as seen through the guitar accents by Asad Ahmed and
Faraz Anwar. Rustam Fateh Ali Khan – an avid believer in the raag’s connection
with nature - completes the story’s composition in downpour in his sargam. The
overall composition is the result of various faces of the same raag that fall
into place to tell the story of the life of rain through the life of a raag.
A
song that retains the purity of those sung in Sufi Folklore, ‘Allah Hu’ belongs
to the world of the Fakir. With a basic rhythm, the song is presented in the
vocals of Sufi-devout Saieen Zahoor as an ode to the likes of Shah Latif Bhitai
with the message of love and spiritual devotion through music. The Sufi
composition is met with Abrar-ul-Haq’s references to folklore’s Heer – finding
itself within the song’s setting of finding true love in the face of worldly
manifestations. The instrumentation blends the Mazaar feel of the rhythm’s
simplicity with a western sweet vibe found in country music and western folk.
Musically, while the tone suggests a feel-good, easy listening experience, the
essence feels the weight of its substance. In keeping with the mix of old and
new, the instrumentation is varied – from the Ek Tara and Dumboora to the
simple keys of the piano. The overall composition reminds of old songs as sung
in the everyday practices within the world, yet holding true to the values of
true liberation through spiritual submission amongst the blur of daily ritual.
‘Moray Naina’, formerly known as ‘Passion’ is
a song that blends the age-old language of Braj with contemporary, trippy
percussive elements. The melody was composed by Zara Madani and was produced by
Rohail Hyatt for an album that was in the works some 6 years ago. A song that combines the meditative and pulsing
qualities of spiritual intricacies set in the East contrasted with the elements
of Moroccan and African beats. Thematically, the song deals with the mania that
ensues in the process of total submersion into the ocean of love. The tone is
one of joy, yet in complete mystery of the state – hence the contrast found in
passionate love. On this path of love, all caution is thrown to the wind as
devotion is reserved for what is concealed, hence the state of what the world
labels ‘insane.’ The song’s flow oscillates, as does the theme, that while the
free fall into love has caused a complete change of perspective to the world,
the inner peace accompanied with the mania becomes the constant, driving force
to dwell in the state. Within the song, Rome brings to us L’Orchestra di
PiazzaVittorio’s trance like flavor, which is accompanied by a merge with our
very own House Band. Alongside this, the bittersweet subtlety of love as
expressed in the song is encapsulated in the performance by the string orchestra
from Serbia. Alongside the percussive instrumentation from L’Orchestra di
Piazza Vittorio, the song also presents varied shades of percussion with Dhol
and Dholak from Pakistan and the Tar from Morocco. The overall experience
becomes one of intense expression.
Throwing
the mind into the ultimate universal spiral of existence is Ali Azmat’s
‘Sawaal.’ According to Ali, a substantial amount of the thought process behind
his album Klashinfolk went into ‘Sawaal’ as it is a representation of the
different stages of life and the corresponding psychological and spiritual
tangents that shoot into the eternal abyss of questions. The feel is that of
human anguish as the vocals wail asking about the transient state of mankind.
In asking the questions, there are more questions as mankind looks on into the
world. It is within this state that the song is met with ‘Kande Utte’ in the
vocals of Muazzam Ali Khan accompanied by his Qawwal Group. The Qawwali here
reflects on the edge of human struggle. The verses refer to folklore in the
tale of Sohni-Mahiwal, which thematically yearns for the union with the source
of true love. A composition based on Sufi tradition, the state is one of
extreme longing at the point of reaching one’s limits, and therefore the most
desperate of spaces. However in the Qawwali, the answers are found within the soul.
Therefore the transition between Sawaal and Kande Utte is through a doorway
inward, wherein the soul’s anguish resides due to the eternal wait to be
reunited with truth. The verses speak to each other, being two sides of the
same coin, wherein the conviction remains that while the spirit is in a state
of constant turmoil, so will the world reflect this inner chaos. The only real
peace manifested in the physical world is mirrored by the peace that is found
within upon connecting with the source. And therein lies the answers to the questions.
Musically, the song was able to connect due to similar scales, and with the
thematic connect, the organic union of the songs goes to show just how things
fall into place in harmony. The essence of the piece finds its freedom in
knowing that nothing is in one’s control – an expression in the universal story
of mortal human life.
The
final Episode of Coke Studio’s Sixth chapter in its journey was aired on all major
television channels, radio stations and available online across Pakistan. The
airing schedule can be viewed at:
http://www.cokestudio.com.pk/season6/schedule.html. To view all past episodes
and to download songs from Coke Studio’s complete sixth season, please log on
to www.cokestudio.com.pk.
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